We have reached a milestone in our household today. As the party goes live we are helping our youngest leave the roost and start a new chapter in her life. It's going to be weird being empty nesters but she's leaving behind one of her cats to keep me company, Mr. Rexy who has become my shadow. In one breath I'm excited about not having to cook supper if I don't feel like it, and having a clean house, and being able to use her old room for my furniture creations before they sell. In the other breath it's going to be sad not having her around and being able to hear a pin drop unless I create some noise. Having the kids home a couple of times a month for Sunday Supper is definitely going to be a cherished tradition.

It's time for another DIY Sunday Showcase Party!

As it does each and every week, it was hard to pick our favorites. If you didn't make our TOP 6 Features be sure to check out ourDIY SUNDAY SHOWCASE TALENT BOARDon Pinterest because your link just may be featured there!

Linking to the party allows the hosts to possibly PIN your project to our DIY Showcase Pinterest Board, use your project in a round-up post (with direct links to your post), as well as Feature your project in the next DIY Sunday Showcase!

Please Do Not Pin from the party, instead go to the original blog post.

In order to be featured you need to grab the button or link and copy it onto your post or in your link party page!

I live in a Plant Hardiness Zone 3 which doesn't give us a long growing season. To make matters worse our yard faces north and we live in a mature neighborhood with a lot of trees which = shade. Achieving a high yielding crop of veggies has been a challenge when some years we still have snow on the ground in April and May.

Starting plants indoors is also not an option when you live in a small home so we took matters into our own hands to extend our growing season by building budget-friendly mini greenhouses for raised garden beds.

Budget-Friendly DIY Raised Garden Greenhouses

Our inspiration came from Stephanie at Swing N Cocoa who came up with a brilliant design.

Last weekend we took advantage of it being a long weekend and got to work building one for each of our three raised garden beds. We modified ours somewhat from the original design but more on that further down in this post.

Materials List

(for each greenhouse based on 4' x 6' beds)

3 each 2 x 2 x 8 lumber

5 each 10' PVC pipe

8 pipe clamps

wire mesh

2 hinges

1 handle

4 each 3-sided metal corner brackets

galvanized screws

light chain

6 mil roll of poly

Building the greenhouse base

Cut the 2 x 2's at 45° angles the same length as your raised gardens. Drill a pilot hole into each joint to avoid splitting when screwing them together.

Apply carpenters glue onto the joint and drill a screw into each pilot hole to secure the joints.

Install 3-sided corner brackets for extra support (sorry we forgot to take close up pictures). This is important considering the greenhouses will frequently be lifted up an down.

Building the PVC greenhouse frame

Secure pipe clamps along the inside of the frame on each side to support the PVC pipe. Ensure the distance between each pipe is measured equally. We purchased 1/2-inch PVC pipe in 10-foot pieces and cut them down to 8-feet.

Note: Don't throw out the 2-inch off cuts because you'll be using them later.

Insert the PVC pipe into the clamps and tighten the screws to secure in place.

Find the center point of the greenhouse as pictured below...

The salvaged 2-foot cut offs of PVC pipe you saved are used for the center supports.

Secure the 2' pieces of PVC pipe along the center of the top using white electrical tape. This will stop the pipe from moving around and add support for the poly. Another more costly option for joining the pipe is using PVC tee fittings and couplings.

In the original design, you would secure wire mesh over top the PVC which we purchased but got so frustrated, let alone sustained a few flesh wounds and decided to come up with Plan B.

IMPORTANT UPDATE:

It didn't take long for us to learn WHY the need for wire mesh. Rainwater tends to pool on the top, putting a lot of pressure on the poly and so don't do what we did and avoid this step, it's an important one. You only need to install it along the curved portion.

To add more stability to the sides we attached more strips of 2-foot PVC pipe just where the sides start to curve. Take a measurement from the base so they all line up perfectly.

Covering the greenhouse frame with poly

Cut the poly large enough that it covers the front of the greenhouses s as well. Starting on the sides attach the poly to the bottom of the 2 x 2 base with staples, starting in the center. Move to the opposite side and pull the poly tight enough that it removes any dimples in the plastic but not so tight that it distorts the shape of the PVC.

Now you can deal with the front of the greenhouses in a couple of ways.

Option A:

Start in the center and fold the plastic to form pleats and staple in place along the bottom of the base. We tried this technique but didn't like the look.

Option B:

Our preferred option. Pull the poly taut and starting in the center staple it onto the base. With a nurses fold - think about how Grandma taught you how to make a bed - fold the fabric taut to the sides and staple it onto the base. With a retractable knife remove the excess plastic along the bottom of the base.

ANOTHER IMPORTANT UPDATE:

Debris accumulates in the folds so to avoid this from happening you have two options:

Place the fold on the INSIDE of the greenhouse

Add clear tape along the fold (not as aesthetically pleasing)

Installing the greenhouses onto the raised beds

Set the greenhouse on top of the raised bed and secure it on the back with two hinges. We placed our hinges 1-inch toward the center on each side.

To keep the greenhouse from flying backward when you open it or from a strong wind catching it, attach some light chain on each side as pictured below.

Attach a handle to the center of the base for easy lifting.

And there you have it, DIY raised garden greenhouses. They might not be as pretty as the mini greenhouses you see made from salvaged pane glass doors but they're a great budget-friendly option.

You can see in the photo below that I temporarily stuck some 2 x 2's into the soil and have them resting on the greenhouse bases for ventilation on hot days. I plan on coming up with a better system when time permits. I'm toying around with the idea of mounting the 2 x 2's onto the front of the raised beds with washers so they swing up when you need them or down when you don't.

You can see the nurses fold better in the photo below.

The frames will not withstand the weight of snow during the winter months so the greenhouses will have to be removed and stored. It's an inconvenience we are willing to make if it means yielding a better veggie group in our cold climate.

The frame laying on the grass in the forefront of the photo above was removed from our deck (another project in the works) but more about that another time.

So are they working?
I planted these tomatoes the first week of June (three weeks ago) from 4-inch pots and already the plants have almost doubled in size with a lot of tomato growth and flowers - without the use of fertilizers.

If you found our budget-friendly DIY Raised Garden Greenhouses inspiring, please share them with a friend and/or save on Pinterest.

As this party goes live you can find me relaxing in the sunshine with a nice cold glass of Strongbow on the outdoor patio of our favorite Irish Pub in beautiful Victoria, British Columbia! This city makes my heart sing and whenever I'm here I feel like I've come home.

So as you join us here at the party I raise my glass and say CHEERS! It's time for another DIY Sunday Showcase Party.

As it does each and every week, it was hard to pick our favorites. If you didn't make our TOP 6 Features be sure to check out ourDIY SUNDAY SHOWCASE TALENT BOARDon Pinterest because your link just may be featured there!

Linking to the party allows the hosts to possibly PIN your project to our DIY Showcase Pinterest Board, use your project in a round-up post (with direct links to your post), as well as Feature your project in the next DIY Sunday Showcase!

Please Do Not Pin from the party, instead go to the original blog post.

In order to be featured you need to grab the button or link and copy it onto your post or in your link party page!

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